The Hidden
by Kate the Kannibal
Summary: AU since HBP. Harry is having trouble getting over Sirius' death. When he's hiding from the world, does he have enough time to fall in love, start a band, and just be a teenager?
1. Chapter 1

This idea had been running through my head for a while and I decided to go ahead and write it out. What do you think?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from Ben and Kaede.

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Chapter 1

The summer was starting most horribly, Harry decided as he hauled his trunk from the back of the Dursley's car. The threat from the Order, while a great idea in theory, made the Dursley's even angrier. No sooner had Harry stepped across the threshold, Petunia had given him a list of chores that covered two pages. Harry stood there for about three minutes tuning out her speech about how Harry was a no-good freak and how he'd better complete the chores without a word or else he couldn't get dinner. Sighing, Harry lugged his trunk to his room and got to work in the garden.

At lunch, Harry was given a piece of bread and cheese to eat; Petunia usually just made him drink from the hose out back. Harry sighed and pulled off his sticky, sweaty t-shirt as he finished the garden. He knew, as he walked to the shed to pull out the lawn mower, that he deserved n less than this. It _was_, after all, his fault that Sirius – _NO!_ He had to stop thinking about that, he told himself firmly. He wiped his sweaty forehead and put the mower on neutral before going to the hose to soak his head and upper body. He shook his head like a wet dog, almost like Sir – _No_ – and went back to the mower. He cast his gaze over the street and saw number three across the street give him a disgusted look before closing her windows to the mild heat. Two girls in shorts and sleeveless tops walked by and Harry looked up long enough to see that one was tall and blonde and one had red hair.

Harry dismissed the girls and went back to mowing only to look up again when he realized that the girls were still there, and they were giggling. Glancing down at himself, he become conscious to the fact that he was wearing almost nothing. He'd pulled off his shirt earlier and his pants were so big that they fell down enough to see the edges of his plaid boxers. His chest and stomach were toned from years of Quidditch training and he was slightly bronzed from hanging out in the lake with Ron and Hermione. Harry realized they were blatantly checking him out.

Harry turned off the mower and walked over to them, not quite sure what he could say. "Can I help you?" He finally said, only realizing after he said it how bad that sounded.

The red-haired girl was absolutely beautiful in a short jean skirt and a tube top. Her blue eyes were sparkling and she was smiling when she said, "Yeah, are you new around here?"

Harry frowned at their accents. Finally recognizing them as American, he replied, "No, but you must be."

This time, the tall blonde one replied, "We came from the U.S. around the Christmas holidays, so we're fairly new. We live in the orphanage on the other side of town."

"Oh," Harry was surprised. He didn't know there was and orphanage around, much less one so close. "I go to a boarding school and I only just got back today." The girls nodded and smiled. "I'm Harry," He said putting out his hand.

"Kaede Naozumi," The blonde one said, taking his hand first. She seemed to understand Harry's confused look because she continued. "I know I don't look Japanese, but it's the name my mother gave me before she died in childbirth. I never knew my dad." She grinned at his raised eyebrows, "Yes, I get that question a lot."

The red head took his hand next, "Ben," she provided simply. "I don't like my full first name and I'm not supposed to tell you my last."

Harry suddenly took on a worried look, "Why? Are you in trouble?"

"No," Ben smiled dejectedly, "My mom died last year and she said not to tell anyone my last name unless completely necessary. We were in hiding, so I'm really not aloud to tell anyone who I was."

"Oh," Harry replied awkwardly. He seemed to be saying that often, "I know how you feel. I'm sort of on the same broo- boat as you. I've got this, this gang leader and his thugs that are after me. He killed my parents when I was one and one of his . . . people, killed my godfather." Harry pulled his lip under his teeth and took a breath, diverting his gaze to the ground. "It – it was a few weeks ago."

Ben nodded sadly, swallowing past a lump in her throat, "Yeah, It gets . . . easier . . . after a while. You can remember them without the pain, but it takes a bit. I didn't know your godfather – hell, I don't even know you, but I know he'd probably want you to live your life the way you want to live it. No adult wants their kid to be drowning in pain over them."

Harry grinned weakly, "Yeah, I don't suppose he would like that." He looked up at them to see that Ben's eyes were watering, but her tears had yet to fall. He moved to hug her, somehow knowing it wouldn't matter to her if he was sweaty, but was cut off by a screech.

"POTTER!" His aunt yelled from in the house, "Potter, get in here and make my Dudley his supper!" Harry sighed and Ben raised an eyebrow, teary eyes wiped away.

"I don't suppose your godfather would want you playing servant to these people, either." Kaede commented accurately. Harry knew she was right, but he couldn't find anything to say.

"Think about it, Harry Potter." Ben said, "Will the Boy-Who-Lived ever think for himself, or will he constantly be under the rule of the Ministry and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?" Harry gaped at the girls as they walked down the street. They knew who he was? More importantly, they knew who he was and they didn't seem to care.

Harry was broken from his thoughts when his aunt screamed for him again. Throwing on his crusty, now dried shirt, he went to make dinner. He didn't get dinner that night because they'd expected him to have the lawn finished. The depressed, feeble, somber part of him screamed that he deserved it; it was his fault, after all, that Cedric was dead, Voldemort was alive and Sirius – _NO!_ Ben was right; Sirius won't – _wouldn't_ – like how he was being treated.

Harry dejected finished making dinner and then, feeling he deserved something for doing all of the yard work, took a slice of bread and a full glass of orange juice. Dudley, however, felt that Harry didn't deserve it and ratted him out. Harry had never seen Vernon's face a more violent color of puce. Though it wasn't the first time Vernon manhandled him, it was the first time Harry had been beaten and whipped. Harry kept silent through all twenty-five belt lashes across the back, chest and legs and never even moaned when he got kicked in the chest. The depressed and guilty side of the teen told him that he deserved it.

Waking from his pain-induced sleep, Harry tilted his head, looked up at his clock from his place on the floor, and saw that it was about four in the morning. Harry moaned softly and pulled himself up, wincing at the soreness in his body both from the work yesterday and the still healing wounds from the night before. Finally standing, he looked around the room at Hedwig's empty cage (she was probably out hunting) and his still closed trunk and came to a decision. He would have to leave. Harry sighed; the problem was how. Hedwig's cage would need to be shrunk and his trunk would need to be both lighter and . . . easier to . . . carry.

Harry's jaw dropped as his things began to do exactly what he wanted them to do. His gaze dropped to his hands where shards of his broken wand lay. Vernon had come to the conclusion that Harry couldn't do magic without his wand and that his wand could be used as another method of torture. What Vernon _hadn't_ counted on was the magic embedding into his skin. When Vernon snapped his wand and grated Harry's arms with the shards of the wood, Harry never expected the core to lodge into his skin along with the wood.

Harry held his hand palm up and filled his mind with one word: _fire_. He almost laughed aloud with joy when a large fireball appeared and floated above his hand. Looking down to his trunk – which was now an almost weightless messenger bag with a handle – and Hedwig's one-inch tall cage, Harry realized that things would be much easier now. His gaze turned to his bare chest, which was covered in whip marks. He turned to the window and sought out the Sirius Star. "I'm sorry Sirius." He murmured, "I really didn't mean to. I thought what I was doing was best. It's my fault you're dead." He looked back at the slowly forming scars and realized he didn't want to vanish them. They would serve as a reminder to think before he acted.

Harry threw a baggy shirt from his closet over himself and picked up the messenger bag, knowing he wouldn't be able to sling it over his shoulder without screaming in agony. He put Hedwig's miniature cage in the backpack, hoping his smart owl would know to follow him. Finally ready to leave this hell disguised as a home, Harry snuck out the back and began his trek down the pristine rows of houses that was Privet Drive.

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See that small box with "go" on it? Isn't it beautiful? It likes to be clicked. It does:) 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks reviewers! I got some feedback, which every writer needs.

**Princess Prongs: **For the record, I like your name. Happy I am, that like this story you do.

**hp&gw:** I looked over the part you mentioned, and I suppose you're right. The thing is, Harry didn't know much about his powers then. It only needed to be mentioned then, and I'm going more in-depth with his emotions on it later on. I'm glad you like London Streets a lot. I should be updating that soon . . . if my editor hurries up.

Disclaimer: Don't we all just wish we could be as good a Jo?

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Chapter 2

Benita (Ben for short) was – figuratively of course – floating in space. Her mind was contemplating the enigma that was Harry Potter while her body was on cruise control. Vaguely, Ben hoped that Kaede knew how to get back to the orphanage. That brought up another problem: Ben should probably take her own advice. If Harry could get out of _his_ hellhole, why couldn't both she and Kaede leave theirs? "That's it." Ben said firmly, stomping her foot and coming to a standstill.

Kaede raised an eyebrow, "Yes, this is where we live." Ben looked up and saw that they had, in fact, reached their orphanage.

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant enough is enough. I can't be a flippin' hypocrite and tell Harry to do what he wants without listening to my own advice. We're running away." Ben said determinedly.

Kaede nodded absently, "Sounds good."

Ben gave Kaede a slightly incredulous look, wondering how she made friends with such an odd person.

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Harry was almost positive that his bag was getting steadily heavier. He didn't know how far he'd walked, but it was almost dawn. The sun was just peaking over the horizon and Harry couldn't remember a better sunrise. Though, it was entirely possible that the rush of his new freedom was sending thrills of ecstasy through his body. Sighing, Harry dropped his bag and sat down at the corner he had reached. There were one or two cars passing, but it was only Sunday and everyone would be sleeping in – including the Dursleys.

While pondering what to do next, Harry failed to see the two girls that had recognized him and were now rushing to greet him. Ben snuck up on his right while Kaede was on his left. Both girls plopped down and Ben whispered, "Boo," in his ear.

Harry jumped a foot, moving to whip his wand out but remembering the fragments were in his hands. He quickly decided to raise his hands in a fighting position, but when he saw who it was, he put them down and sighed. "What are you two doing here?"

"We ran away." Kaede replied, inspecting and buffing her nails on her shirt as if it were an every day occurrence.

Harry blinked, "Why?"

Ben grinned and stood so she was up to Harry's height, "I decided to take my own advice. Kaede just joined for the ride."

"Gee, thanks," Kaede replied, voice dripping sarcasm, "Don't I feel welcome."

Ben rolled her eyes, "Kaede hasn't had her coffee."

Harry and the girls agreed that they'd go together – wherever they were going. They carried their bags to the nearest fast food restaurant and took turns freshening up. They bought a small breakfast with the money Kaede was smart enough to filch from their warden. After they hit the road – quite literally as Ben had tripped on the pavement – Harry brought up the topic of magic.

"So you're both witches, then?" Harry asked. When Ben nodded, Harry continued, "Why didn't you transfer to Hogwarts?"

"My mom taught us both." Ben answered, "No one ever realized Kaede had any powers and my mom took me off the roster as soon as I was born so no one could find us."

"Ah," Harry understood their lifestyle a bit more, "So that's why you don't tell anyone your last name. You're in hiding from someone." Ben nodded and they fell into a comfortable silence.

Harry took the time to look at both girls better. Kaede was tall and average weight and had large hazel eyes. Ben was thin, too, if not a bit on the short side. Harry was probably an inch taller than she was and he was only about 5'6'' or 7. She had auburn hair that was perfectly straight to just below her shoulders. It was cut in odd jagged layers that framed her face beautifully. Her eyes were a clear twinkling blue color that triggered something in his memory.

While the girls looked angelically striking, they'd added piercings and tattoos that made them look almost rebellious. Kaede had three earrings on her right ear and two on her left. Harry was also pretty sure her tongue was pierced because she was constantly tapping something against her teeth. Ben had two piercings on each ear and a third on her left ear that was up on the cartilage. She also had a red and silver pole through her right eyebrow. The most noticeable feature on Ben's face was the crescent moon tattoo on the side and almost below her left eye.

Ben caught Harry looking at her piercings, "Like 'em?" She grinned, "We should get you a few, too."

Harry grinned, eying the pole in her eyebrow, "Does it hurt?"

Ben shrugged, "Only a little at first."

Kaede stopped dead at yet another of the dozens of intersections they'd gone through and looked to a group of signs that directed cars to the highway. "Are we walking the whole way to London?"

"We're going to London?" Harry shrugged, answering his own question, "Sure, why not? We could probably find someone who'll take us the rest of the way." He also assumed that Voldemort and the Death Eaters would never expect him to travel like a muggle. This way, no one would be able to find Ben, Kaede, or himself. For an extra precaution, Harry waved his hand over the three of them, shielding them from any magical being trying to reach them. That way, Voldemort wouldn't be able to send any creatures either. He also added an untraceable charm for good measure before they turned to the highway and began their trek to London.

As they walked down the highway, Harry told his life's story to Ben and Kaede. He told them about the stone and the Chamber and even about Sirius. He told them things that Ron and Hermione hadn't ever known and poured his soul to the two girls he felt he knew forever.

Harry was just telling them what Vernon did to him when the dark clouds that had been threatening them all day decided to let out some rain. He looked to the girls, who had tears in their eyes and gave them a weak smile. "We should try and flag down a car before it starts really raining." For the next ten minutes, they continued walking through the peppering rain trying to flag down a car. Eventually, a blue mini-van slowed down and Harry hurried to the passenger window. A woman in her late thirties rolled down the window and looked at him worriedly as the girls caught up.

"Hello." Harry said with a disarming smile, "Could we have a ride?" There was a cry of agreement from the back, but the wife turned to her husband in the driver's seat. "I promise, sir," Harry said, leaning down so he could see the man, "we have nothing in our bags but clothes and necessities. We mean you no harm. We just need a ride to London, or as close as you can get us."

The man inspected him for a moment before nodding cautiously. The woman smiled and pushed a button for the side door to slide open automatically and Harry thanked them profusely. One of the two captain's chairs held a car seat housing an energetic 4-year-old with bushy brown pigtails. "Hi." She said with a smile, showing off a missing front tooth, "I'm Anna. I'm four." She held up three fingers, "Who are you?"

Harry chuckled, the girls reminded him of Hermione. "I'm Harry," he said, climbing into the back, "These are my friends Ben and Kaede." He added as Ben sat in the back with him and Kaede took the other captain's chair. Harry sat without buckling his seatbelt or leaning back so he didn't scream in pain. The father pulled back into the traffic and the mother turned to look at them. "I'm Rachel and this is my husband Daniel."

"I'm Harry," He replied, giving introductions again, "This is Ben and Kaede."

Rachel smiled, but then frowned at Harry, "You need to sit back and buckle your seatbelt."

"Can't," When Rachel gave him a look; he sighed and continued, "I have recent whip marks on my back and chest, so I can't lean back."

Rachel gasped and began digging for something under her chair. "I have a first aid kit somewhere around here." She mumbled to herself, before finally pulling out a box. "Can you take off your shirt?" She asked kindly.

Harry diverted his eyes as he carefully pulled off his top. All four girls gasped and Daniel's eyes flickered to the rear-view mirror. Rachel turned back to her first aid kit and began to pull things out, passing them back to Ben and Harry. "Will any of this prevent scars?" Harry asked quietly.

Rachel looked back, confused at Harry's odd tone. "Yes, that one in your left had should help."

Harry nodded and passed the paste back to the front. Ben shot his a worried look and Harry muttered, "I want the scars." No one could find anything to say to this, so Harry allowed Ben to clean the welts in silence.

"You ran from home, then?" Daniel asked in his deep voice.

Harry looked up and met his eyes in the mirror. "Yeah. My parents died when I was a baby. I finally got the guts to leave my aunt and uncle's. Ben and Kaede are in hiding and running from their orphanage."

Daniel nodded and turned his eyes back to the road. The rest of the trip went by in silence until they hit the minor streets of London. "Where do you want to go?"

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Sooooooooooo . . . how was it? 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: not mine

So, am I to assume that no one likes the story, or everyone's simply too lazy to get off their sorry arses to review? .: taps foot :. Thought so. Tisk, tisk. 

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Chapter 3

Harry pointed in the general direction of Diagon Alley and had them dropped off somewhere near it. "Thank you so much." Harry said as Kaede pulled out some money.

"It was no problem." Rachael replied with a smile, refusing to take anything. "You three take care of yourselves."

Ben smiled as they waved to Annah and stepped out of the van. "You too," she added as the van pulled away. The trio ran out of the drizzle and under the shelter of the opening of a restaurant. They watched the van pull away and they each took in a breath of their newfound freedom. Now that they were in London, where would they go next?

"So . . ." Kaede trailed off, "Where do we go now?" She turned to Harry, assuming the British teen knew where he was going in London.

Harry looked around and saw that nobody was in the immediate vicinity, so he waved his scarred hands over himself to change his appearance. His dark hair changed to match Kaede's and his eyes changed to blue. After moulding his glasses to be more oval shaped, he made his clothes fit better. "I'll bring us to the Leaky Cauldron." Harry said, looking both ways to check which direction they had to go in. He pointed left, but didn't leave yet because he wanted to speak before they dashed into the rain. "I'll pretend to be Kaede's cousin and I'm showing you guys around the magical UK. Our parents think we're responsible enough to take a vacation by ourselves, so we'll be renting out a room for ourselves."

"The Leaky Cauldron's a hotel?" Ben clarified.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, It's also a bar and the way to get to Diagon Alley. The Alley is the main shopping centre. That and Hogsmeade, but we'll probably go there another time." Harry was about to leave the shelter of the overhang, but Kaede grabbed his arm lightly.

"Will we use fake names?" Kaede asked, "Ben is in hiding, and you're Harry Potter. That's sort of self explanatory."

Harry nodded. He thought for a minute and finally said, "I'll be . . . Rhett . . . Ar . . . yor; Rhett P. Aryor."

"I want to keep my name." Ben said, "But I'll need a fake last name." She paused thoughtfully and finally said, "Ben Le . . ."

"Lever . . ." Kaede added, putting some more letters on.

"- it!" Harry cried, "Leverit; Ben Leverit, that's a good name."

Ben nodded and smiled, "Yeah. I like it, thanks." Harry's mask slipped and he gave a weak half-smile. It wasn't often he felt this way about a girl, and Harry didn't know how to react or which mask to put on.

"I want to change completely." Kaede informed them, "I mean, _Kaede Naozumi_? That's obviously Japanese and not American – not that anything's wrong with my name. It's just . . . obvious."

"I like the name Hannah." Ben replied, "I think that's really cute."

Kaede shrugged absently, "I guess." She said, thinking deeply, "I was thinking a name that's a bit more obscure, but not too obvious."

"Aeda?" Harry suggested, "It's fairly simple and a bit abnormal to boot."

Kaede nodded, "Yeah. My last name can be . . . Joris. Aeda Joris, and Rhett and I have different last names." She grinned, "This will be fun. What's the plan, Rhett?"

Harry ran his tongue over his lips and said, "We'll head to Gringotts to get some of my money. From there, we can do whatever we want. One thing I definitely want to do though, is write to Dumbledore when I get my Hogwarts letter and tell him that you guys want to join." He paused and looked at them uneasily, "You _do_ want to go, right?"

Ben raised an eyebrow, "Yes." Harry nodded and finally led them around the block to the small pub that was The Leaky Cauldron. They slipped inside and a few people that were waiting for guests looked up to identify them.

"Can I help you?" Tom asked from the bar.

Harry led the way over and took a breath, putting his story to the test. "Yeah, I'm Rhett Aryor and this is my cousin, Aeda, and her friend Ben. They're from the States and I'm showing them around, so we need a room. It'd be best if we had two conjoined rooms, as the girls can share one."

"Sure," Tom wiped his hands and put down the rag before leading them to a corner of the bar that had the room keys and sign-in sheet. "Are your parents coming later?"

"No," Harry shook his head, voice confident. Underneath his sturdy mask, Harry was nervous and shaking – hoping that Tom would believe them. "Mum and Dad said that we could take a sort-of vacation. They live close enough to walk on foot but we wanted our space for the summer."

Tom nodded, "Sounds like fun." He began to write down their names and their room number. Harry almost laughed with relief. "How long will you be staying?"

Ben shrugged, "We aren't sure. We'll pay daily, though. One of us will come down in the morning with the money."

Tom sized them up, looking to see if they would keep their promise. He nodded, "All right, then." He passed over two keys. "Here you are, these are for rooms ten and eleven."

"Thanks," Ben smiled and took the key, leading their threesome up the stairs. They went into their rooms and Harry watched the girls pull out the first aid kit that Rachael had, apparently, given them. Ben had Harry pull off his shirt and put some more medicine on his welts while Kaede went through their bags to pull out some food she'd managed to snitch from the orphanage.

Harry was beginning to doze off from Ben's soothing massaging of the medicine into his gruesome wounds when the provisional healer spoke softly, "Why do you want the scars?"

Realizing he couldn't very well shrug in this position on his stomach, he spoke aloud, "I suppose 'cause I deserve it."

A choked gasp, and Harry almost started up to look at her face. But that would hurt more. They settled into an unforgiving silence, the only sounds coming from Kaede, who had moved into the adjacent room. Finally, breaking the silence, "You don't." Harry moved slightly, suggesting his confusion. "You don't deserve it." Ben explained, "No one deserves this." Harry swallowed.

They fell, once again, into silence. This time, the silence didn't end and Harry's heavy lids slid shut as his mind welcomed the warm embrace of the dream world.

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_Harry was standing in the middle of the street in London, the rain pouring down in turrets around him. Dumbledore was standing not ten feet away from him with a distinctly disappointed look on his face. "Harry, you're in danger. You need to go back to the Dursleys. It will protect you from Voldemort."_

_Protesting, Harry shook his head, "No, I'm fine. We're hiding -" _

_"No, Potter." His eyes were red now and his face had a familiar sneer, "You need to go back. You deserve it. You killed them all, after all." Suddenly, Sirius was standing next to Voldemort. _

_"Harry," He had a horrid, furious look on his face that made him appear almost disfigured, "It's all your fault. I wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you." _

_The world was spinning and Harry couldn't take the shame. He turned to run away. His parents were standing on the front walk to number 4 Privet Drive. "You need to stay safe Harry." His mother said, "You'll only end up killing more people if you don't." _

_Once again, Harry turned in shame. His own parents didn't even want him. He looked up. Cedric Diggory. "Come on, Harry, let's take the cup together. Voldemort is waiting." His face changed to one that would adequately fit Voldemort's. "Come to the dark side, Harry." His voice changed. It became almost feminine. "We have cookies." _

_"What?" Harry was confused. _

"Come on, wake up Harry." That was Ben's voice. Cedric's malevolent face faded into Ben's smiling one. "We have some breakfast, and Kaede even snuck some biscuits, though I hear you Britt's call them scones."

Harry sat up quickly and held his hand to his aching head, immediately regretting the quick action. "Huh?" He asked groggily, his voice scratchy.

Kaede giggled and tossed an apple to Ben. "Not a morning person, then?" Ben proceeded to put forth a plate that had an assortment of breakfast items and put a fork in Harry's hand. The girls were dressed already and had obviously taken showers. He looked at the clock and saw it was nine thirty. With nothing better to do, Kaede suggested that she braid Ben's hair. Harry watched them absent-mindedly while eating as they chatted about almost everything.

He eventually came around and looked around the room. His backpack was sitting on the desk in the corner and Hedwig was sitting on the back of the chair, preening herself. "You've got a real smart bird." Ben commented, "She flew in not too long after you fell asleep." There was a short pause, "Why on earth did you choose an _owl_?"

Harry looked over to see Kaede almost halfway done twisting her hair into miniscule braids. "Well, almost all wizards have them, don't they? They carry mail and are dead smart." Hedwig puffed up at his comment.

"Really?" Ben looked interested, "Don't the muggles notice the birds?"

Harry shrugged, "I suppose they do a bit. But there aren't hundreds of owls flying all around the country at once, are there?"

"Well, the wizarding world in the US can't afford to hide as much as Europe does." Kaede explained, "They adapt to the technology. We have cell phones that always have service and our stores blend right in with the muggles. We don't wear robes, they're just inconvenient. Muggles buy half of our divination things and go to palm readings because they're fascinated with the Seers. They think it's all just fun and games, though the occasional person is insane and believes it all."

Harry sat, listening intently. "But wouldn't there be a lot of accidents?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded, but Kaede whipped her head back into it's proper position so she could continue braiding. "The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts is one of the largest sections of the government, along with the Hit Wizards and Aurors. Half of the crime in the streets is actually magical and it's cleaned up in a matter of minutes. The muggles just think they're gangs, though sometimes the news is about actual muggles. There aren't too many boarding schools, as it would be harder for kids to go there." Ben shrugged, "They just go to a private school."

Harry grinned, "That's wicked."

Kaede finished the braids and waved her hand towards the bathroom. "Go take a shower and all so we can go do something."

Harry stood up and went to get a change of clothes. "Where are we going today?" He turned to look when no one answered and a sudden feeling of dread hit the pit of his stomach at the sight of their grinning faces.

"We're going shopping." Ben replied with a wicked grin.

Harry stood behind the girls as they gaped at the mounds of gold in his vault. He knew without a doubt, as they proceeded to heave mounds of each coin into weightless bags, that this day would be one of the longest in his life.

Earlier that morning, Harry had finished getting ready and had lead the girls into Diagon Alley. Kaede had automatically started walking to a dark looking clothing shop on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley while Ben ran off to look at the newest broomstick at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry had been smart enough to head them off rather quickly and explain that they had to get some money from Gringotts first.

Currently, Harry was standing at the open door of his vault (which had somehow gained more gold) as the two young witches practically dove into the piles. The goblin on his left had an almost amused look on his face and Harry decided to ask what was bugging him. "Excuse me; do you know why I seem to have more gold in here than I did before?"

The goblin promptly replied, "You have interest, of course."

Harry nodded and sighed as the girls continued to empty his vault. "I don't suppose there's an easier way to transfer gold?"

To his surprise, the goblin nodded. "There's a new project that Gringotts has recently come up with. It hasn't had much of an influence yet, and the purebloods, specifically, don't like the idea. We've taken the idea of credit cards from muggle society and adapted it. We now have a Gringotts Easy Card that automatically transfers money with the wave of a wand and the spoken price."

Harry smiled brightly and called out to the girls. Ben and Kaede agreed to use a Card instead, but looked sorrowfully at the mounds of gold they were previously swimming in. "You can go and get some anyways." Harry sighed with a small smile. He felt like a father talking to a pair of two year olds that desperately wanted a sweet.

After they left Gringotts, the girls were running high on adrenaline as they pulled Harry from shop to shop. Kaede and Ben agreed to go to a clothing shop first and they led Harry somewhere that Harry slowly realized was Knockturn Alley.

"Where are you taking me?" Harry asked, jerking them to a stop when he finally realized it. "We can't go there, it's too dangerous."

Kaede raised an eyebrow, "When has that stopped you?" Harry looked between the two girls and sighed.

"Where are we going?" He asked. Ben grinned and pulled him down the alley without answering. They stopped in front of a store with a sign that said "Blood Diamonds" in a flashing crimson colour. The windows held racks of jewellery that looked hauntingly beautiful. Quite obviously, this gothic shop pierced ears and sold the jewellery to accompany it. Ben laughed out loud at the look of horror that crossed Harry's face as he realized what they were doing. "Well, you _did_ want a piercing, Har." Again, she laughed at him as Kaede pushed him into the shop. _They have one twisted sense of humour_, Harry thought, dredging up his Gryffindor Courage to get this over and done with.

"Can I help you?" There was a girl at the counter that looked about twenty-two, popping and chewing her gum, looking utterly bored.

"We need to fix him up." Ben replied with her wicked grin.

"Do you do Tattoos here, too?" Kaede asked.

"Yeah," another pop. She grinned over at Harry, "Let's get started." She took the trio into the back and the girls began to completely make him over. By the time they were finished, Harry had a feeling he would hardly recognize himself. As the girls weren't allowing him to have a look at himself until they were finished, he didn't have a clue. In addition to his right eyebrow and left cartilage being pierced, the girls decided to streak his hair. Ben seemed really excited about the colour, but none of them spoke it aloud and Harry still didn't have a clue. When the colouring was done, the lady attacked his hair with a pair of scissors and Harry was almost scared for his life. He had a feeling that he'd be bald by the amount of cutting she'd done.

Finally, they'd allowed him a mirror and Harry _knew_ he didn't recognize himself. If he was honest with himself, he now looked every bit of the delinquent that his Uncle and Aunt had claimed he was. His hair was short enough that his scar would be in plain sight when he didn't have Ben's cover-up on it, but it fit him. It didn't look like he'd just up and out of bed without looking at it, it looked like it was styled messily.

"Sexy." Ben commented, ruffling his hair. Harry smiled and tried not to blush as he watched his hair fall back into it's messy spikes. The light caught a new colour and Harry realized that they'd streaked his hair the same colour as his brilliant green eyes, even though they were changed at the moment. Ben had gotten down the colour perfectly.

"Yes, very macho." Kaede agreed, "But now we need clothes that don't look like rags. We have to show off the body you're hiding under that baggy shirt." Harry paid for a few earrings that caught his eye, the piercings, the colouring job and the haircut with the Card before hurrying out of the shop behind his girls.

His girls? Harry's heart thumped nervously in his chest as he caught up. His eyes went to the ground as his mind hurriedly tried to figure out why he'd thought that. He'd known them enough where they meant something to him. They actually meant a lot of something. Harry almost felt a guilty pleasure that they meant almost as much as Ron and Hermione did. The big difference was that his girls knew the real Harry, while Ron and Hermione had to dreg up who he was – and even then they only knew a portion of him. He realized that he acted himself around his girls, but he _had_ to act different in the Wizarding world. That world knew him as the Boy-Who-Lived, but Ben and Kaede knew _Harry_. Yes, these were his girls.

For another hour and a half, Harry practically lived in a changing room as Ben and Kaede threw clothes over the door and screamed at him to hurry up so they could see it. They passed back jeans of all kinds, shirts, shorts, belts, hat and even a cool metal chain necklace that Harry wouldn't take off. While the girls paid for everything, Harry chose an outfit to wear out of the store. He chose a pair of jeans, a black shirt with a white guitar design and a pair of vans. Looking at himself in the full-length mirror, he suddenly felt a sudden burst of self-confidence. Here he was, looking completely different and actually looking _good_. His old, weak, and pathetic identity was now gone and with it, he decided, would go his shyness and inability to show his true self.

Walking out of the dressing room, Harry never noticed that his posture was straighter and he not only looked like his father, but had the confidence of his old man, too.

-------------------------------------

Kaede watched as Harry walked out of the changing room looking absolutely yummy and completely self-assured. _And it was all thanks to us_, she said to herself with a smug grin. She knew for a fact that she was boy crazy, but one look at Ben told her that this luscious number was off limits. Even if her red-haired friend hadn't realized it yet, she was head-over-heals in love with Harry James Potter from day one. True, it had been a bit of a simple crush when they'd first seen him shirtless in the garden, but it had developed as they got to know him. Harry was a true, honest and surprisingly traditionally principled guy, but that kind of guy wasn't for her. Kaede liked the wild ones, but Ben and Harry would fit together like a lock and key. She couldn't have been happier for her best friend.

"Hey," Harry said, walking over to them, "Where are we going next?"

"Back to Blood Diamonds," Kaede replied.

Ben looked over at her, "We are?"

"Yeah," Kaede answered, "I'm getting my hair trimmed." Trimmed was probably an understatement as Kaede wanted her hair (currently below her shoulders) to below to the back of her neck in an almost boyish style. When she was finished, she watched the reactions on her friends' faces. Harry had a shocked look on his face while Ben ran up with a grin to look at it closer. Kaede's hair fell in jagged layers – much like Ben's – to just about halfway past her ears while the back was a little shorter and cut like a guy's.

"That looks _awesome_!" Ben cried, flipping some of her long red hair over her shoulder, "And it's probably a hell-of-a-lot easier to manage, too."

Kaede laughed and kept shaking her head and running a hand through it experimentally. "Yeah, I'll bet it is."

"It looks great." Harry offered, finally getting over his shock.

Kaede looked from Ben's peppy, energetic, outgoing grin to Harry's shy, small and subdued smile. Yes, they would be good for each other. But for now . . . "Hey Harry, I forgot to tell you that the tattoo artist is in right now and I had her set some stuff up for you." The look on Harry's face was one for the books.

--------------------------------------------

Albus Dumbledore, head of the Order of the Phoenix, stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen of 12 Grimmuald Place to hear Molly Weasley's raised voice. She was yelling, once again, at Fred and George Weasley for using another prank on some unfortunate order member. The family was trooping out of the kitchen while various order members slipped past Mrs. Black. Everyone sat down and Albus noted that Remus looked almost nervous.

"Albus," Molly started, "Exactly when are Hermione's parents coming? Only, she's been asking about them."

Albus smiled, "Yes, they'll be here tomorrow morning. They said something about taking their daughter, Annah, somewhere in London. They're staying in a hotel tonight." The old mage then looked over to Remus, who practically leapt out of his seat when addressed. "You have something to say, Remus?"

"Harry hasn't sent a letter," he blurted out. "It's the third day and he hasn't sent word. It's not like him."

Albus' eyebrows furrowed, it most certainly wasn't anything like the young charge. "You warned his family, correct?" Remus nodded. Severus was about to comment, but Albus silenced him with a sharp look. "After the meeting, I'll ask a few of you to come with me to go check on him."

A young man of about thirty-six leaned forward and gained the room's attention. He had a scarred face, much like Mad-Eye – though his nose was still in-tact. His black hair fell above his eyes and a pair of sharp frames perched on the bridge of his nose. The most imposing part of the man was the way he held himself. He sat with a sharp jaw and imposing gaze that demanded the attention of the room, and he seemed to have power rolling off him like waves. This man was Matthew Potter; not anyone but Dumbledore knew.

"Excuse me," the man said in a voice that made almost everyone turn their heads in surprise. His voice was a duplicate of James Potter's. "Is this Harry Potter we're talking about?"

Everyone gave the newcomer a strange look. Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, Matthew." He turned to the order at large and began to explain, "You remember the year James and Lily Potter got married. Not tremendously long before, James' parents were killed by Voldemort. It was believed that James' younger brother, Matthew Christian Potter, died as he was visiting the senior Potter's at the time. That was not the case. In his pain, Matt decided to take a break and become an Unspeakable. He has recently joined the Order and I hope you'll help him feel quite welcome."

There was a large gaping silence before the flurry of motion. People that remembered him ran forward to hug and greet him. Minerva even had a hint of tears in her eyes when she shook his hand. When everyone finally settled down, Matt spoke, "Albus, I've had a look at your memories and if they're anything to go by then my nephew won't come to you if something is wrong. And something is definitely wrong." There was a pause. "He will try to fix it himself because he doesn't believe it's worth your time."

"What?" Molly cried, "Why wouldn't he?"

"He's been abused his entire life." Matt said simply.

"Harry would tell us if something was wrong." Molly protested.

Fred, or maybe George, spoke up, "We would have picked up on something."

"Yeah," the other added, "he hasn't said anything, or even let anything slip."

"We know he doesn't like it there," the first continued.

"But he wasn't being abused." The second finished.

"What do you mean by that?" Albus asked, ignoring everyone else for the time being.

"It's hard to find," Matt continued, "but you have to look for it. I also met Lily's family before they got married and Vernon Dursley most certainly was prone to violence. He's also malnourished. It's almost a known fact that Potter men mature early, so he should have gotten a few inches taller before his fourth year. He's also extraordinarily under confident. He doesn't think he's going to live through this war." Silence met his words.

"Rubbish," Remus said, "of course he value's his life."

"Does he?" Matt asked vaguely, "Then why would he, so willingly, jump into The Veil if he knew exactly what happens when people go into it. He knew Sirius wasn't coming out. But you had to catch him to stop him, didn't you?" Again, silence. "But I also have some information from the Department of Mysteries. I work specifically in the area of Death – which includes The Veil. A few weeks ago, something absolutely asinine happened; someone with their soul in-tact fell through The Veil. The Veil is exclusively meant for bodies without souls – after a Kiss. Something's wrong with it, but no one knows what. We have people monitoring it to see what happens. The Veil might end up regurgitating people, which is most likely at the moment."

Dumbledore nodded dimly, thinking of what would happen to Harry if Sirius suddenly came back. He turned to Severus, who began his report on Voldemort and the meeting continued.

Roughly a half-hour later, Matthew Potter, Severus Snape, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Mad-Eye Moody and Albus Dumbledore stood in the Entrance Hall of 12 Grimmuald Place. As Albus made a portkey to Privet Drive, he spoke to the group, "Severus, I'd like you to look through the mind of Petunia Dursley, find any memories of Harry's childhood. Alastor, I want you to keep an eye out for general danger. Matthew, I'd like you to look for signs of abuse or otherwise. Ron, Hermione, you know Harry better than anyone. I want you to look for anything of his."

"This is assuming the brat is missing." Severus sneered.

"He won't be there." Matt said firmly, gesturing everyone to the completed portkey. The group took hold and with a pull at their naval landed at Privet Drive.

As Albus stepped into Harry Potter's bedroom and saw the pools of dried blood that had been attempted to be scrubbed out, he knew he'd failed the boy.

* * *

Well, here's to hoping you people feel like reviewing. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry guys! It's been forever sense I updated and I'm soooooooo sorry!!!!

I'm writing a novel that I hope to get finished and at least edited by the end of the year. Hopefully published. So, I have chapter 5 typed and part of 6 but there might be a greater gap between each new posting. Hopefully not, but this is just a warning.

Anyway! Here's the next chapter you're all waiting for.

* * *

Chapter 4

Harry yawned as he sat up in bed, wondering where he was and why it wasn't his room in Privet Drive. His memories slowly came back to him: they'd run away and they were free. Looking around the quiet room, he noticed the closed door that led to the girls' adjoined room; they were still asleep, then. Knowing he had time, he got out of bed and went to the loo to wash. The girls still weren't awake when he came back so he worked for about ten minutes to conjure a mug of coffee, as it was a bit stronger than tea.

Outside of his window, the sun wasn't up yet, though it would be soon. Harry sat on the ledge and sipped his coffee silently, enjoying the silence. The sun was about halfway up when he began to hear movement from the other room. The girls poked their sleepy heads through the door about ten minutes later and looked surprised to see him awake.

"Hey, sexy," Ben said groggily, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Harry blushed, that was something else they were trying to cure him of: his shyness. The girls said that the only way to overcome it was to be complimented at all hours of the day. "What 'choo doin' up at this hour?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I usually get up at this time. I was just really tired yesterday."

The girls nodded, blinking and stretching. "Well, day two. What're we going to do today? We've got the freedom to do anything."

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I never really got the time to think of what_ I_ wanted to do."

"Well," Kaede prompted, "Now that you can think, what _do_ you want to do?"

Harry turned back to the rising sun. What _did_ he want to do with his free time? What did he _like_? Well, flying for one. Flying always brought a euphoria that nothing else could. He liked . . . what else did he like? He liked a challenge; a good challenge. A challenge where he defied what everyone else believed and his broke all boundaries. He liked . . . "Is there anything that doesn't involve a broom that makes you feel entirely powerless, but in complete and utter control at the same time?"

Ben smirked, "Oh, will you love skateboarding."

Five hours, two decks, and fifty million falls and scrapes later, Harry had finally gotten a hang of skateboarding. He had to admit, once you knew what you were doing, it was a thrill of its own. The girls had put him through half pipes, rails and every other possible object he could pop the board or wheels onto. He'd caught on really quickly – another boundary he enjoyed breaking. Ben and Kaede were rather surprised that he could manoeuvre the board so quickly. In fact, the majority of the falls themselves came from the stunts that Harry had later tried to invent and perfect.

The skate park gradually began to fill up and Harry found himself having to look out for other people. This seemed to help his swerving skills quite a bit, though he wasn't infallible. After crashing into another kid, he realized that he _really_ needed to practice around other people.

"Sorry about that." Harry said, getting up and holding out a hand.

"No problem," the other kid replied, taking his hand. The boy was Harry's age with long, curly, dark brown hair that fell to the bottom of his neck. His black eyes reminded him strongly of Professor Snape; but he couldn't be related. "I'm Andy Snape." Apparently, he _could_.

"I'm Rhett Aryor," Harry said with a grin. He didn't know how much this kid knew about the wizarding world, so it was best to use their fake names, even if he didn't have his disguise on. For all he knew, Andy could hate the wizarding world because his father left him or something. "Nice to meet you. Do you skate often?"

"Yeah, almost every day," He grinned. "My mum hates it, 'cause I come home with scrapes of all kinds. She hates almost all of my hobbies, come to think of it. I play the drums, too. She hates the noise."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "So, you're family doesn't get along well, then?"

"Oh, no," Andy shook his head empathetically, "No, I know she doesn't mean it. It's sort of one of those things she doesn't like much, but puts up with because I like it."

Harry nodded. "What about your dad?" He asked carefully. Now was a good time as ever to figure out what the hell happened to the senior Snape.

"Not sure," Andy shrugged. Harry was surprised, as the Snape he knew wouldn't give up on a responsibility. Sure, the man was nasty, but he saw things to the end. "Mum doesn't like to talk about him. He probably ran or something." He finished with a bitter tone. Harry highly doubted that, but you never know.

Harry nodded anyway. He looked to his watch and saw it was close to dinner time. They had spent almost the whole day at the skate park. It was close to five and Harry's stomach was complaining. "Well, it's about time to eat. Maybe you'd like to come with us for dinner?"

"Who is 'us' and where would we eat?" Andy asked, flipping his board into his waiting hand and already unclipping his helmet.

"My friends, Ben and Aeda, are here with me. We're hanging together for the summer. They're Yank's, but Aeda is my cousin and I'm showing them around London." Harry said, sticking to their story. "We're probably going to just eat at the first place we can find." Harry led Andy across the park, looking around for the girls. "Kaede has short blonde hair and Ben's a redhead."

No sooner had he said that, Harry spotted the duo. "Here they are."

"Ben's a girl?" Andy asked, surprised.

"What?" Harry looked at the girl in question. She was _definitely_ a girl. She was wearing tight jeans that cut off halfway down her calf and a shirt with only two straps holding it up on each shoulder. "Of _course_ she's a girl."

"Oh, well you gave me the impression she was a bloke." Andy replied. "Ben is, after all, usually a guy's name."

"Well, I suppose it's a nickname for something else." Harry shrugged, waving the girls over when they noticed the two guys. "She's Aeda's mate, so I don't know her that well. Yet, at least."

Andy's gaze took on a teasing look. "Oh, _yet_, you say. So, you planning on roping her in?" He asked. "If you need any help, I'm the master of flirting."

"Yeah?" Harry raised an eyebrow, keeping his voice down as they approached the girls. "I might have to take a rain check."

"Hey Harry," Ben said, showing off their American accents to Andy. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Andy Snape." Harry was relieved that neither girl's face showed any of the recognition that he knew they had. He'd told them stories about his _favourite_ professor, so they'd be familiar with his family name.

"Nice to meet you," Ben said with a nod of her head. "I'm Ben."

Kaede stepped forward with a half-lidded gaze and a sensual half-smile. "Hey there," She ran her gaze tantalizingly down his body. "I'm Aeda." She stepped up and ran a finger down his sweaty chest. "Might I have the pleasure of your name?"

"Anthony Snape." Andy said, taking the hand she'd ran down his chest and kissing her knuckles. "_Enchanté Mademoiselle_," Andy said in French, meaning 'nice to meet you, miss.' What little of other languages Harry knew, he could recognize. Of course, it couldn't hurt that it was almost a universal phrase.

Kaede laughed at the phrase and immediately dropped the act. She linked her harm playfully through his and they walked out of the skate park. Ben walked up to Harry and pushed her shoulder gently against his. "Hmm, they make quite a pair."

"I suppose so," Harry replied, "Though I think Andy's a bit frivolous with dating – him and Kaede both. They're probably just playing with each other." He suddenly got an inspiration and spun to face Ben, sweeping into a bow with his hand out. "May I accompany you, fair lady?"

Ben flipped her hair out of her face haughtily and pretended to scrutinize him. "I suppose," She put on a rather poor attempt of a British accent. Harry just laughed as they linked arms and followed Andy and Kaede out of the skate park.

"So, is it safe to assume that Andy is related to your Potions teacher somehow?" Ben asked as they dropped their arms, as well as the act. If Harry was honest with himself, he didn't want to let go of her arm.

"I think so," He replied. "He said he doesn't know his father. His mum doesn't like to talk about him, so either Snape left her or Andy's mum left him." He tilted his head and quirked his mouth in a smirk. "This is assuming Snape is actually Andy's father. They could simply be cousins or relatives some other way."

"Right," Ben nodded her head. "But you're the one that knows what your teacher looks like; not me. You'd be the one to know if they look anything alike."

Harry nodded. Looking over at Andy, he realized there was a huge resemblance. Andy _had_ to be Snape's son. Ben grabbed his attention – literally, as she was pulling his arm – and Harry looked up to see Andy and Kaede waving at the next corner. The two caught up and Kaede immediately began to tease them.

"I know you two just want to sneak off and make out, but we've found somewhere to eat." She said, laughing at Harry's light blush.

"It's a really good place to eat." Andy said, brushing off Kaede's taunting for Harry's sake. He led the group to the pizza shop across the street. "I go here all of the time. It's some of the best original pizza in London." They all went in and picked a booth, waiting to order. While waiting, they sat and chatted about themselves.

"I go to a boarding school in Scotland." Harry was saying, "Ben and Aeda should be getting an acceptance letter this summer, as they've just moved here."

"Neat," Andy replied, "I'm home schooled by my mum and Uncle Matt. Do you play any sports?"

"Er – yeah. I play on the school team – it's sort of like football. Who's Uncle Matt? Is he your mum's brother?" Harry asked.

"No, but he's not on my dad's side either." Andy said, "We actually don't know anyone from my dad's side of the family. Uncle Matt is more of an honorary Uncle. He's known my mum since I was four, maybe five. I go to a karate place that he runs. Usually, he teaches me at home, but I think he wants to sign me up so I can test myself against some other kids my age."

Harry nodded and absent-mindedly waved his hand over his tea, warming it up again. He froze, realizing what he'd done in front of Andy. But Andy's face wasn't one of confusion or suspicion. It was one of eagerness and joy. "I knew it." He was grinning at Harry like an idiot. "You go to Hogwarts, then?" Andy and the girls, who had been previously having their own side conversation, burst out laughing at the look of shock on Harry's face. Harry had assumed that Andy knew nothing about the wizarding world – he didn't go to Hogwarts, so what other possible reason could he have aside from the fact that he simply wasn't knowledgeable.

Harry finally got over his shock and listened to what Andy was saying, "- was muggleborn, so my grandparents loved everything to do with magic. My mother didn't want me going to Hogwarts for some reason – I assume she doesn't like their system or something." _Or something_, Harry chuckled darkly to himself.

"Well, if we're coming clean," Harry said, "My name isn't Rhett Aryor. It's Harry Potter."

Andy raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. "You don't _look_ like Harry Potter." He commented with a playful sneer.

Harry grinned wryly, "Yeah, the girls dragged me through a few shops yesterday. Anyway, I want you to still call me Rhett. I'm sort of in hiding – from Voldemort, obviously." Andy nodded.

The group ate the pizza when it was dropped off by the waitress and Andy sent a joking wolf-whistle as she walked away – though judging by the girl's glare, she didn't know he was teasing her. They continued joking and teasing with each other until a shadow fell over their table.

Andy looked up and smiled, "Hey Uncle Matt." Andy's uncle pulled up a chair between Andy and Kaede and looked around the table.

"You going to introduce us, kid?" Matt asked with a chuckle. Harry froze. That voice, it brought out memories. Memories he had wanted to forget; memories of his father's last words. Uncle Matt's voice was probably exactly like his father's.

"Oh, yeah," Andy said, pointing out the girls, "That's Aeda, and that's Ben." He turned to Harry, "And this is -"

"Harry Potter," Harry said firmly, putting out his hand and watching his face intently for any reaction. He was disappointed when the only thing Uncle Matt did was smile and shake his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." The man smiled. "I've read about you in the Prophet, though I suppose you can't trust everything you read." Harry was almost upset, but what was he thinking? That he had a long lost relative of some sort; yeah right. He was Harry Potter. These things didn't happen. "You can just call me Uncle Matt." He continued, "Just about everyone Andy knows does."

Andy rolled his eyes and the girls grinned. "Andy said you run a dojo?" Harry prompted, hoping he got the terminology right. When Uncle Matt nodded, Harry continued, "I don't suppose you could tell me how much it is to get in?"

Uncle Matt looked from Harry to Andy and said, "If you can get my nephew to come with you, I'll let all three of you in for free." Harry and the girls immediately turned to Andy with pleading looks on their faces.

Andy groaned and turned to his smirking Uncle. "You evil, vile fiend," This only served to make the man's smirk wider, "You will pay for this, I assure you."

"I have no doubt of this." Uncle Matt then turned to Harry and the girls, all business, "Your parents or guardians must sign the papers, of course." Harry exchanged an uneasy look with Ben. "I thought so." Uncle Matt continued when they gave him a surprised look. "If you need a place to stay, my apartment has two guest rooms."

Harry shook his head quickly, "No, we're fine sir. We have a hotel room – we're fine."

"Nonsense," Uncle Matt scoffed, "And none of this 'sir' stuff. Only in the dojo."

Andy nodded in agreement, "You can stay with Uncle Matt, or with me and my mum. We have a guest room."

"How far away is Uncle Matt from your house?" Kaede asked, already planning to change living arrangements.

"Down the hall," Andy replied, grinning.

"In the same apartment?" Ben laughed, "I don't suppose that was prearranged or anything?"

"It's actually how mum met Uncle Matt." Andy replied with a smile to the aforementioned family member.

"Well," Uncle Matt said getting up, "Selena wanted you to come home to wash the dishes." Harry could only assume that Selena was Andy's mother. "She also said that you need to turn on your mobile phone."

"Why?" Andy said grumbling about the first request and completely ignoring the second. "She could just charm the brush to do it for her." He stood up and put some money on the table.

Harry looked to Uncle Matt and saw the grin on the man's face. "Yes, but it creates morals." The girls hid their grins as Andy continued to gripe and moan. Uncle Matt only smiled and led them out of the shop.

"Can we meet you here tomorrow?" Harry asked, looking to sky to find that the sun was slowly setting. "It's getting a bit late."

"Sure," Andy nodded. "We'll meet back at the skate park at eleven. Bring your bags – shrunk preferably. We can move you in later tomorrow afternoon."

"Cool," Kaede smiled and waved. "See you guys."

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It was morning, and the dew and fog were glistening in the sunrise. People were just beginning to get up for work, though one particular van was already at their destination. Daniel and Rachael Granger parked their car next to the run-down park at the end of Grimmuald Place. Rachael unbuckled their youngest – Annah – from her car seat and they stood and waited for their Hermione and one of the school Professors to come and lead them to the invisible safe house.

Rachael looked nervously around the ragged and dangerous looking road, hoping their escorts would come along soon. Five minutes later, two figures came hurrying from the right. Rachael picked out her daughter's wild hair almost immediately, though it appeared to have calmed down a bit. Hermione ran forward and gave her parents each a hug before scooping her little sister into her arms. Rachael recognized the woman that was still walking towards them as the professor that had explained about Hogwarts and magic when Hermione had first gotten her letter.

"Hello Professor McGonagall," Rachael said when the woman finally got to them. "Thank you for going to the trouble."

The professor waved it off, "It was no trouble at all." She shifted her gaze down the street. "It's best we get going. You can never be too careful."

When the Grangers got into 12 Grimmuald Place, they found a frenzy. There were people running from room to room with objects that looked like a stone bowl and other papers while some people toppled from a green-flamed fireplace and some appeared out of thin air! Professor McGonagall was whisked off by a sandy-haired man while a tall gangly boy of about fifteen or sixteen ran to Hermione.

"'Mione," He said, "There you are. Dumbledore wants a few memories before the meeting starts." The boy stopped and finally noticed the three behind his friend. "Oh, sorry," He put out his hand, "Ron Weasley. You've probably seen me before fourth year and at the train station every year."

Rachael smiled and nodded, remembering that her daughter had a crush on the young man and she shouldn't embarrass her. "Right, I remember you now. This is Annah, our youngest. You probably haven't met her before."

Ron smiled and nodded, "You'll want to hurry in. Put you bags next to the stairs and we can take them to your rooms later. Right now, you'll want to head to the kitchen." Ron led them hurriedly through the bustling hall, stopping to silently tiptoe past a moth-eaten cloth, to the loud and disorganized kitchen. Hermione, who was in the room at the time, was led out to give another memory to Professor Dumbledore.

The Grangers were sat down at the table and watched as people began to steadily flow in and take their seats. Annah was watching with wide eyes as things were levitated around the room and chairs were created out of nowhere. Rachael recognized Molly and Arthur – the two that had taken Hermione to a sports game two summers before. Hermione came back in at one point and Ron came not long after to sit next to her. The last person to come in and silence the room with his presence was the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore stood at the head of the table and smiled when he saw Hermione's family. "Good, the Grangers have made it fine." The twinkle in his gaze suddenly went out and he looked around the table. "I realize not all members could be here last night and that we also have minors here this time, so allow me to explain why we're here this morning. At the train station, Harry Potter was told to send a letter every three days. However, yesterday was the third day and we had no note. A few Order members, Ms. Granger, and young Mr. Weasley accompanied me to Privet Drive to find something disastrous." Dumbledore took a shaky breath that scared the Order witless. "Harry Potter was abused." There were gasps of outrage from those that didn't know and sobs from some that did. "We've come together this morning to try to piece together the past of this poor child and find where he's run away to. You are all gathered because some are bound to see this differently that others and perhaps pick out what we missed."

Dumbledore sighed and waved his hands, dimming the lights slightly. He waved his wand over his pensive and the memory of what they must have found in Harry's room played like a slide projector on the wall behind the Headmaster.

"_Professor!" The memory Hermione cried when she opened the door to Harry's room. There was dried blood over the floor and sheets and a pile of splintered wood under the window. _

_The memory Dumbledore waved his wand over the shards of wood as memory Ron asked what they were. "These are the remnants of Harry's wand."_

"_What happened to the rest of it?" memory Matthew asked, noticing that the entire wand wasn't there._

"_It's in the boy's arms." Petunia Dursley said stiffly from the doorway. The four in the room turned to see a pale and tightly masked face. "Vernon snapped the thing and used it to put splinters in his forearms."_

_Dumbledore was almost shaking, Hermione had tears running in rivets down her face, and Ron looked about ready to puke. "The blood?" Ron asked in a shaky voice._

"_That was the first time Vernon ever used the belt. Twenty-five lashes across his chest, back and legs." _

Petunia then turned away and the memory ended. "We have the memory of Vernon Dursley actually beating Harry," Dumbledore said with a tear stain rolling down his cheek, "but that won't be shown. What will be shown is the time Hagrid picked up Harry to go to his first year and the times he was dropped off and picked up from King's Cross to see how much damage there is. We are trying to find out how much damage was done and at which age things started."

Dumbledore played the memories and people began to notice the hard-to-find signs of neglect and abuse. Through the entire thing, Harry was strong and took it all. That was the part that worried Dumbledore the most – Harry didn't seem to have a braking point. He hadn't told anyone and he kept everything bottled up. How long would it have been before he snapped?

"Mummy?" Annah asked, looking up from her drawing on some spare parchment to watch the latest memory. Her voice broke the quilt of silence upon the kitchen. "Mummy, is that Harry?" She asked innocently.

"Yes," Rachael replied, eyes still on the memory, "Annah, shush. Mummy's trying to watch."

Annah nodded and went back to her colouring.

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Reviews please!!!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this is taking a bit. I've been planning a trip to Germany. There's some family in that direction and we've been planning the trip for a bit now.

I'm not one to make threats if people don't review, but it's almost a known fact that people like to hear about their work, and will end up working harder to imrove or make the story better. Ie: if you review, chapters will probably come quicker! So no pressure or anything! ;)

Now, I'll always appreciate the people that do review and I want to say sorry for not acknowledging the reviews for chapter 3 in the last update.

I want to thank **Gryffin's love**, **Irishfighter**, a lovely anonymous person, **patronuspotter86**, and **summersgirl2526** for your comments and approval of chapter 3, and **summersgirl2526**'s praise of chapter 4.

**Le Diablo Blanc2**: Glad you like it. Kaede . . . she's a fun character. Draco? Sorry, but no cigar. Ron and Hermione being jealous also sparked a bit for the end of the story, so danke! (Thanks in German . . . I can't believe I'm going!!!)

SOOooooOOOoooo . . . story . . .

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Chapter 5 

When the last of the memories were over, Dumbledore turned to talk to the Order again but was interrupted by the little four-year-old. "Escuse me, Mr. Dumblesir," Annah said, gaining the attention of the entire table. Before Rachael could silence her again, the little girl said with all of the innocence of her age, "We saw Harry before."

Dumbledore smiled down at her, "When was that?"

"I don't know." Annah shrugged, swinging her legs under her. "But it was raining and Daddy was driving to the big city. There was Harry and Ben and Katie on the side of the road. They came into the car with us. Harry had lots an' lots of boo-boo's. Mummy and Ben fixed them."

Rachael looked up to Dumbledore with a shocked look in her eyes. "That's right!" She said, "We were driving and Annah pointed to the side where three kids were hitchhiking. We usually don't pick up hitchhikers, but Annah talked us into it. There was the boy – he must have been Harry Potter – and two girls. One was Ben, who had this pretty auburn hair and eyes just like yours, Professor. The other girl was Kaede – a Japanese name. She was tall with long blonde hair. Harry wouldn't sit back and buckle and when asked why, he said it would hurt. He took off his shirt and he had lashes all over him. I passed back a few antibiotics and pain salves that Ben put on him – though he didn't want anything that would prevent scarring. The girls seemed to understand why." Rachael paused, collecting her thoughts. "David asked what happened and Harry said that he'd run from his Aunt and Uncle's."

"Can you remember where you dropped them off?" Dumbledore asked. When David nodded, Dumbledore removed the image and put it in the pensive.

"That's only about a block from the Leaky Cauldron!" Tonks cried out.

Dumbledore smiled grimly, "We have our heading, then."

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The Snape residence, Harry found, had the same feeling as the Burrow did. It had a relaxed atmosphere and a feeling of love almost embedded in the walls. The entire apartment building – which only had two levels – was almost one big family. Almost all the doors were propped open and children ran from one apartment to the next while mothers talked between doorways.

Harry spotted Andy's mum almost immediately. The woman had sharp eyes and sweet smile, which was an odd combination but worked for her. She had given Andy his dark brown, curly hair and warm hazel eyes. When they arrived, she looked around with a smile geared towards Uncle Matt, shooting a curious gaze at Harry and the girls.

"There you boys are." She looked from Andy to the three behind him. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Ben, Aeda, and . . ." Andy trailed off, not sure how to introduce Harry yet again.

Harry sized her up for a moment before putting out his hand, "I'm Harry Potter, though I'm currently going under the alias of Rhett P. Aryor." Harry looked up to see that Uncle Matt didn't look surprised.

Andy's mum smiled and shook his hand. Surprisingly, her eyes didn't do the customary flick to his forehead. "Yes, you have Lily's eyes." She smiled at he look of shock on Harry's face. "My name's Selena Penley, but you can call me Mum or Mum Lena. That goes for all of you." The teens nodded.

Harry, however, frowned at her name. "Your last name isn't Snape?" Harry asked before blushing when he realized he was probably out of place. "Sorry -"

"No, that's fine." Mum Lena waved it off, "I get that question a lot. I was engaged to Anthony's father, so I only saw fit to give him his father's last name." She turned back to Andy, "Now you, young man, were supposed to finish the dishes before you went skating. Get inside and finish it this instant and I'll forget about thinking of taking your drums away." Andy quickly ran into the open apartment door and Kaede followed curiously.

Uncle Matt finally spoke with Mum Lena, "Hey Lena." He smiled, "Rhett, Ben and Kaede are homeless. They're alone at a hotel right now but I was hoping you could take the girls at least. Rhett can stay in my spare room."

Mum Lena shot a worried look to Ben and Harry, who were standing nervously. "Yeah, as long as the girls won't mind sharing a room. I can conjure a second bed." Harry sent a look at the people near them, afraid someone had heard Mum Lena's terminology. "Don't worry, Rhett," Mum Lena smiled, "Everyone in here is either magical or knows about it. There's a few muggles with magical kids, a few plain muggles, a family of squibs live downstairs and a handful of plain magical families."

Ben smiled, "Really? Are there any kids our age?"

"Bored with us already, Ben?" Harry smirked.

Ben shoved him in the shoulder. "Not what I meant."

Mum Lena smiled, "James Malfoy is the only one your age – and he lives downstairs. Most of them are either much younger or in Uni." She paused, "Are you all right, Rhett?"

Harry had started coughing at the name Malfoy. "Sorry," Harry got control of his breathing, "but did you just say Malfoy?"

"Yes, he lives with his mother." Mum Lena replied.

Andy came out at that moment and dragged Harry and the girls away, saying "We're going to the garage, Mum!"

They made a pit stop on the first floor when Andy poked his head into another open door. "Ms. Beth?" Andy called out, "Ms. Beth, is Jamie here?" A woman with golden blonde hair stepped around the corner. She was in her _very_ early thirties, probably 31 or 32 at the most. She had a square face and a soft smile that lit up the room. She wasn't overly tall, but she had some wide curves that were shown off with her jean skirt, halter top and heals.

"Hello Andy." She said smiling, "No, I'm sorry, Jamie isn't here. He ran down to the music shop around the corner if you'd like to go find him."

"Yeah, thanks Ms. Beth." Andy waved once more and led the other three out of the apartment complex. Pulling out a mobile phone, he quickly called his mother to explain the change of plans.

"Ms. Beth seems really nice." Ben commented.

"Yeah, she's quiet, too." Kaede added.

Andy nodded, "She is. Not only that, but she had a horrible self-esteem. She doesn't date because she doesn't believe she's worth it. She works about three jobs, and one of them striping."

Ben and Kaede shot him a sharp look and Andy nodded. "Ms. Beth wasn't raised too well, I think. The other mum's in the apartments try to support her, but it doesn't help much. She was only fifteen when Jamie was born, and her parents dumped her on the spot."

"Really?" Harry frowned, "That sounds bad. Is Ms. Beth magical?"

"Yes, she's a half-blood from the U.S. The States have day schools, so she came home every night and all. She dropped out when she had Jamie and moved over here. Mum and Ms. Beth were pregnant at the same time so they helped each other out. Jamie and I do tutoring together and our Mum's take turns teaching."

"Wow, you've known him that long?" Kaede asked.

Andy grinned, "Yep, since we were in nappies."

Ben and Kaede laughed at the image of Andy in nappies while Andy and Harry chuckled at the girls' antics. Soon, the four of them almost collapsed through the doorway of the music store down the road. The only two people inside looked up in question.

Harry looked up to finally get a good look at James Malfoy. James had shaggy bleach-blonde hair that was cut in an almost surfer-boy haircut and fell into his cool grey/blue eyes. He wore a pair of loose jeans, a normal t-shirt and a pair of skateboard shoes. He was standing on one side of the shop, his hand on a shelf with blank tracks and blank music sheets.

"What are you laughing about?" He asked, walking over and putting his purchases so far on the counter. Andy and Jamie exchanged a complicated hand shake while Andy replied.

"I'm not sure anymore, mate." Andy chuckled. "What are you getting in here?"

Jamie shrugged, "Just a few blank tracks and some demo's, I guess. Why, are you getting something too?"

Andy turned from Kaede, who was scanning over keyboards, to Ben, who was inspecting guitar amps. "I'm not sure." Andy then raised his voice so the girls could hear him. "Are we buying anything?"

"We couldn't afford any of this!" Ben cried.

"It's much too expensive." Kaede agreed.

"Not for me." Harry said absently, running his hand over a row of guitars. The girls both turned and protested quite loudly. "I have a couple thousand pounds on a card and I have nothing better to do with it." The girls finally agreed and ran through the shop, dropping what they needed on the counter. Harry took the time to introduce himself as both Harry Potter and Rhett Aryor and give Jamie Ben and Kaede's background stories.

"Want a new drum set, Andy?" Harry asked casually.

"What?" Andy asked, "Are you out of your bloody mind? First a guitar and keyboard, and now a drum set? This costs a bit much, mate."

"I've got a bit much, mate." Harry replied in a voice that wouldn't accept no for an answer. "I was also planning on getting Jamie whatever it is that he uses those blank track things with."

"I sound board!" Andy was about to hyperventilate and the clerk was about to kiss him with joy. Jamie had a huge grin on his face.

"You're seriously going to get me one? A good one? The one I have right now is a bit trashed." Jamie said.

Harry walked up to the clerk and said, "I'd like the best set of drums you have – Andy can pick out the design – and the newest sound board thing with everything needed. I also want two guitars – let Ben pick out styles and the newest keyboard." The guy was frozen in shock. "Please?" The guy quickly went to fill the order.

"Why are you getting two guitars?" Ben asked, as the guy began to ring up the purchases off of a sheet with bar codes. "I only need one."

"I want you to teach me to play." Harry responded casually, leaning on the counter and handing his card over to the cashier when asked for it. "You will teach me, right?" He asked, unsure if it was all right for him to just assume things.

Ben smiled, "Of course I will. This'll be fun. We could probably start a band or something. Can any of you sing?"

Andy shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."

"A bit," Jamie replied

"Not much, I haven't taken lessons in forever." Kaede said, "One of my foster parents wanted me to learn."

Harry looked at her blankly, "I have no bloody idea."

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The next day, Harry sat down in his bedroom in Uncle Matt's apartment. The five of them had shrunk the instruments when the cashier wasn't watching and re-sized it in the two-car garage the apartment complex owned, though no one actually parked their cars there.

Harry, Ben, and Kaede ran back to the Leaky Cauldron to check out and get their bags. The girls had settled into Andy's house fine and Harry got his own room in Uncle Matt's apartment. He'd unpacked his school trunk for the first time in his life. He'd stacked books on his desk and had his personal items scattered about the room.

It was about nine thirty at night and Harry was wide awake. His thoughts were crazy, unsure, and all about one person: Ben. Did she like him? Did he like her? Why was she so easy to talk to? Why did his stomach tie in knots when she was around?

Harry turned on a lamp, sat at his desk and pulled a sheet of paper towards him. He thought for a few moments before his hand rushed across the paper and a tune floated through his head.

_Watch my life pass me by in the rear-view mirror_

_Pictures frozen in time, are becoming clearer_

_I don't want to waste another day_

_Stuck in the shadow of my mistakes, yeah_

_Cause I want you, and I feel you_

_Crawling underneath my skin_

_Like a hunger, like a burning . . . _

_

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_

So . . . do I get a Grammy?


	6. Chapter 6

I'm glad my reviewers like my story so much! Happy Reading!

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Chapter 6

The next week flew by quickly as Ben, Kaede, Andy and Jamie had pushed Harry to his limits. Along with Ben and Kaede's insistence of skateboarding and biking practice came Uncle Matt's promise of training, and guitar lessons from the 'band'.

The day after Harry and the girls met Jamie, the blond teen played a track and passed him the lyrics. Harry had blown they al away with his wide range and his ability to almost rough cut his voice to make it raspy. He could also scream/sing perfectly, which Andy informed him was talent.

Ben had been next and had their jaws on the floor with her stunning raw talent and insanely huge vocal range. Jamie had put his new sound board to use by coming up with some music to Harry's song, which he'd named "What's Left of Me."

"We _so_ have to start a band." Kaede said, "Harry can sing lead and play guitar, Ben can play bass and the rest of us can do what we do best."

Andy and Jamie looked at each other and then back and Kaede, speaking in unison, "This will be so cool." Harry laughed and agreed while Ben sat down with a sheet of paper and began to write some lyrics. After about a half-hour of complete silence, Harry spoke up.

"Hey, Jamie?" Harry asked, "What's your story?"

Jamie sighed and put down his pencil. "You mean, where is my father?"

Harry's lips quirked, "Yeah, that too."

Jamie smiled, but it seemed a little strained. "Well, you know my mum doesn't have the best self-esteem."

"Doesn't mean we don't love her." Ben put in.

Jamie grinned, "Yeah, well Andy probably told you about my mum's night job. Mr. Malfoy decided he wanted to have a fourteen-year-old stripper at his stag party and here I am." He said bitterly.

"Sorry," Harry said, looking to the floor. "I didn't mean to bring up anything bad."

Jamie shrugged and pulled out a back of cigarettes. "You _do_ know that's bad for you." Kaede said sternly. Jamie only shrugged and went back to his music, blocking out anything else with his new sound-proof headphones.

Another ten minutes later, Harry threw down his pencil and cried "Done!" into the silence. Ben giggled and Kaede quickly followed, only to be laughed at by the boys.

"Let's hear it, then." Andy said, leaning back in his chair. He slapped Jamie upside the head, making the blond boy put the headphones around his neck and look up.

Harry picked up his guitar that was already hooked up. "I want a tune like this," Harry played out a rough tune with a few odd high notes, but it was a great melody all-in-all. "I'm naming it "Had Enough", I think." Harry pulled his page of lyrics towards him and began to sing the chorus:

_You had to have it all._

_Well, have you had enough?_

_You greedy little bastard, you will get what you deserve_

_When all is said and done, I will be the one_

_To leave you in your misery to hate what you've become._

"Wow," Ben said after a moment. "What spurred those thoughts?"

"Yeah, if your looks alone don't scream _'I hate the world'._" Jamie said, but a grin that resembled a smirk showed he wasn't serious.

Harry shrugged. "The song is sort of dedicated to Voldemort."

Ben threw back her head and laughed. Harry gave her an odd look that only made her laugh harder. When she finally gained the ability to speak, she choked, "Harry, I think you're the only person to ever dedicate a song to a Dark Lord."

"Well," Harry shrugged, "I figure that people write songs about people they hate and he's my enemy . . ." Harry trailed off and shrugged. Everyone shook their heads helplessly and went back to work, while Jamie put in a new disk to put the foundations down to Harry's song.

Harry looked around at his newfound friends and smiled to himself. Words began to flow through his head and Harry began to write . . .

_Cause I have found a click to call my own._

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Harry fell to the mat for what seemed to be the millionth time the past hour. "Get up!" Matt shouted, "Do you think Death Eaters will wait for you to catch your breath? I can see it now _'Excuse me, Mr. Voldy, think you could hold that AK for one minute while I take a breather?'_" Sometime during the past few weeks 'Uncle Matt' had changed to plain old 'Matt.' The instructor had also felt that Harry needed extra lessons that involved magic as well as fists. Harry's rules were that he could use his magic – if he could do it wandlessly. Meanwhile, Matt used a combination of karate, street fighting, and magical duelling. Harry felt like he was being run to the ground and Matt's justification? Harry worked well under pressure.

Gritting his teeth, Harry pushed himself up and fell into a now natural fighting position. He ducked from a stunner and steadily moved, through ducks and kicks, closer to his opponent. When he got close enough, Matt holstered his wand and began to deal out a few blows.

Harry subconsciously believed that he was getting better – at least he wasn't getting at many bruises. That, in itself, was a huge accomplishment. In a sudden epiphany, Harry faked a right and dropped into a swipe at the heals. Matt fell to the ground as Harry did a back flip to stand over his waist. Harry fell back a bit so his knees trapped Matt's thighs to the ground and his fist stopped an inch from Matt's jaw.

Both sat perfectly still, chests heaving, until Matt chuckled. "Good job, kid." Matt said, as Harry stood up. Harry pulled Matt to his feet and grinned up at his mentor. Matt gave a small smile and Harry felt a burst of pride and a huge grin spread across his face.

One sentence fell out of Matt's mouth that made Harry's smile fall faster than a dive on his Firebolt: "Now do it again."

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"Well you look like shit." Ben said as soon as Harry stepped into the pain training room. The girls were tying their shoes and hefting their bags over their shoulders. "Andy got a call on his cell from Mum Lena who said someone wanted to talk to him. They went ahead. Jamie said they'd meet us by the skate park."

Harry groaned, "Honestly? If you think I can take one more fall, then you've lost your bloody mind."

Ben giggled, "You Brits have really funny cuss words, you know that?"

Harry scowled playfully, "You Yanks have really funny accents, you know _that_?"

Ben laughed and shoved him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble, which only made the girls laugh harder. "Hey, guys?" Kaede said, gaining the other two's attention, "I forgot something back home, so you two run ahead."

Harry shrugged, "Sure, why not?" Ben glared at Kaede while the blonde girl only wiggled her eyebrows with a grin and backed out the door. Harry glanced at Ben and fought down a blush, finally realizing what Kaede was doing. She was leaving them together so they could 'talk'. He didn't want to make anything awkward, so he grinned and said, "Let's go, then. We could probably grab a quick lunch on the way."

Ben nodded, relaxing significantly, and led them out of the training centre.

"What was your orphanage like?" Harry asked quietly, grasping at straws to get her attention away from her embarrassment.

It worked. "No good," Ben replied gloomily. "Everyone hated Kaede, and when I came in they automatically hated me for being her friend. Mum was the best, though. She taught me a few languages, you know." Harry looked interested, so she smiled and continued. "I know French, German, Italian, and Spanish." Harry gaped and she laughed.

"Can you teach me?" Harry asked eagerly.

Ben nodded and smiled. "I'll start with French."

They continued down the block, Ben chatting in French as she said the best way for him to learn was complete submission. Harry didn't think it would work, but was trying his best to understand what she was saying. She would translate once in a while if she had said something important. A shadow suddenly passed over them and Harry looked up to see his snowy owl.

"Hedwig?" The owl swooped down and landed on his shoulder. "There you are. I assume you went to Ron or Hermione's first?" The owl nipped his ear as if she were annoyed. "Sorry. Moving to London was almost a spur-of-the-moment thing. You know where I am now, though." Hedwig bobbed her head in a nod and put out her foot, on which a letter was tied.

Harry pulled the letter off and Hedwig hopped to Ben's shoulder. "Oh, Hedwig, this is Ben. Ben, this is my stunning owl I've told you about." Hedwig puffed up with praise and Ben laughed. Harry chuckled as he looked down at the letter. He expected a letter from Ron or Hermione about how he shouldn't grieve for Sirius and that they couldn't tell him anything. What he _wasn't_ expecting was a letter from Dumbledore. He frowned as he read aloud:

_Dear Harry,_

_You have caused quite a stir in the Order. There must be a charm that you unintentionally placed to keep magical people you know avoid you. _

_When you didn't send a letter, some of us travelled to your home to see what was wrong. Rest assured, you won't be going back._

_Please tell us where you are or at least take off the charm._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

How_ dare_ he? Harry was fuming. For the past week or so Voldemort had been trying to find where the Boy-Who-Lived was, and Harry had been putting up a good fight. The meditation Matt taught him helped the headaches drastically. And though Harry was getting stronger, he wouldn't be able to fight ol' Snake Face face-to-face, or rather eye-to-eye. Now, the Dark Tosser was resorting to some old-fashioned tricks.

Ben put a hand on his tense forearm, calming him instantly. "Rhett – Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry teeth grinded as he growled, "Voldemort's being a right bloody bastard, that's what's wrong." Ben pulled Harry to a bench and laid him down so his head was in her lap. "He sent a letter that's charmed to look like Dumbledore's handwriting," Harry closed his eyes as Ben ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, "the bastard."

"How do you know it wasn't Dumbledore?" Ben asked logically. "It could just be a letter with no strings attached."

"No," Harry sighed, his anger drained. "Dumbledore doesn't know anything about the Dursleys. He wouldn't send people to look for me, either. He doesn't know much about my home life. He could; I mean he's Albus Dumbledore! He can know almost anything he wants to, but he just chose not to know about this." Harry shrugged and took on a lighter tone when Ben's fingers tightened in anger in his hair. "Really, it's nothing."

Ben growled, "No it's not. If I ever meet Albus Dumbledore, I think I'll kill him."

Harry snorted, "Stand in line. I think Moldy Shorts has first dibs."

Ben chuckled softly. "He probably does."

Harry opened his eyes and finally realized exactly where his head was. A blush rushed to his face and he quickly sat up, only to bump heads with Ben. They both cussed rather vibrantly and gave each other shocked looks before bursting into laughter. Standing up, they walked down the sidewalk to the nearest place to eat.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ben nervously reach out her right hand for his left, but she quickly lost her nerve. Gathering up his so called 'Gryffindor Courage', Harry pulled her hand into his and wound their fingers together. Ben looked up to him, as he was only a bit taller, and smiled brightly. Harry's heart beat fiercely in his chest and he smiled back.

They made it to the same pizza place they ate at before and Harry let go of her hand to pull open the door. Ben gave him another smile that was as bright as the sun

He followed her into the shop and a potential song began to flow through his head . . .

_Tell me what we got; tell me it's a lot,_

_Tell me it's the real thing_

_Tell me not to change and always be the same; tell me it's a good thing,_

_It's a good thing_


End file.
